MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES - High School Level I
This course is an introduction to the study of the target language and its culture. Students
perform the most basic functions of the language and become familiar with some elements
of its culture. The emphasis is placed on the development of the four skills of listening,
speaking, reading, and writing within a given context extending outside of the classroom
setting when possible. The context focuses on the students’ lives and experiences and
includes an exposure to everyday customs and lifestyles. Grammar is integrated
throughout the course and is selected according to the language conventions (functions).
A general introduction to the culture, its products (e.g., literature, laws, foods, games,)
perspectives (e.g., attitudes, values, beliefs,) and practices (patterns of social interaction) is
integrated throughout the course. Students acquire some insight into how languages and
cultures work by comparing the target language and culture(s) to their own.
Integration of other disciplines is on-going throughout the course.
Strands: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing
COMPETENCY GOAL 1: INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION - The learner
will engage in conversation and exchange information and opinions orally and in
writing in the target language.
Objectives
1.01 Interact with teachers and others using standard greetings, farewells, and
expressions of courtesy orally and in writing.
1.02 Use basic words and short learned phrases during interactions orally and in
writing.
1.03 Ask and answer questions about feelings using learned material orally and in
writing.
1.04 Share likes and dislikes, feelings and emotions with each other orally and in
writing.
1.05 Engage in oral and written conversation (e.g., face-to-face, e-mails, letters) to
exchange essential and personal information about everyday topics.
1.06 Use culturally acceptable vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and gestures.
Second Languages 2004 Modern Foreign Languages 94
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES - High School Level I
COMPETENCY GOAL 2: INTERPRETIVE COMMUNICATION - The learner
will understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics
in the target language.
Objectives
2.01 Demonstrate understanding of words, phrases, and sentences from simple
oral and written texts dealing with basic personal and social needs.
2.02 Demonstrate understanding of oral and written questions about familiar
topics.
2.03 Follow oral and written directions, commands, and requests.
2.04 Identify key words or main idea(s) from oral or written passages.
2.05 Make inferences from simple oral and/or written passages (e.g.,
conversations, dialogs, narratives, advertisements, songs, rhymes, chants, and
literature) about familiar topics.
2.06 Interpret phrases presented with accompanying gestures, intonation, and
other visual or auditory cues.
COMPETENCY GOAL 3: PRESENTATIONAL COMMUNICATION -The learner
will present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers
on a variety of topics in the target language.
Objectives
3.01 Give short oral or written presentations about people, places, things, and
events using everyday words and phrases.
3.02 Dramatize songs, simple skits, or poetry dealing with familiar topics.
3.03 Retell a story orally or in writing.
COMPETENCY GOAL 4: CULTURES - The learner will gain knowledge and
demonstrate understanding of the relationship among practices, products, and
perspectives of cultures other than his/her own.
Objectives
4.01 Recognize and use gestures, manners, behaviors, greetings, and idiomatic
expressions of the target cultures.
4.02 Learn and discuss patterns of behavior or interaction among the target cultures.
4.03 Participate in activities and celebrations and discuss their impact on the culture.
4.04 Demonstrate an awareness of the different target countries and their capitals by
locating them on a map or globe and identifying their major geographical
features.
4.05 Identify important individuals from the past and present and their contributions
to the target cultures.
4.06 Explore practices and perspectives of contemporary life in the target cultures
through print, non-print, electronic materials, and cultural artifacts.
4.07 Identify cultural products, practices, and perspectives that lead to generalizations
or stereotyping.
Second Languages 2004 Modern Foreign Languages 95
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES - High School Level I
COMPETENCY GOAL 5: COMPARISONS - The learner will develop insight into
the nature of language and culture by comparing his/her own language(s) and
culture(s) to others.
Objectives
5.01 Identify the sound patterns of the target language and compare them to
his/her own language(s).
5.02 Identify similarities and differences in the structural patterns in the target
language and his/her own language(s).
5.03 Recognize similarities and differences in the ways languages are written
(e.g., alphabet/characters, punctuation, capitalization) in the target language
and his/her own language(s).
5.04 Recognize that there are words, phrases, idioms, and concepts that do not
transfer directly from one language to another.
5.05 Identify connections among languages by recognizing cognates and loan
words.
5.06 Develop an appreciation for cultural differences by comparing simple
patterns of behavior or interaction in various cultural settings including
his/her own.
5.07 Identify similarities and differences of tangible and intangible products (e.g.,
food, dwellings, music, sports, clothing) between the target cultures and
his/her own culture(s).
5.08 Examine the cultural traditions and celebrations that exist in the target
cultures and other cultures and recognize the viewpoints behind them.
5.09 Recognize viewpoints and attitudes of people in both his/her own culture(s)
and the target cultures relating to family, home, school, work, and play.
5.10 Identify the mutual contributions of the target cultures and his/her own
culture(s).
COMPETENCY GOAL 6: CONNECTIONS - The learner will acquire, reinforce,
and further his/her knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language.
Objectives
6.01 Demonstrate understanding and apply information and skills that are
common to the foreign language class and other disciplines.
6.02 Transfer information acquired in the foreign language class for use in other
disciplines.
6.03 Recognize and apply learning strategies and processes from other
disciplines.
6.04 Develop learning strategies in the target language which can be used in other
disciplines.
Second Languages 2004 Modern Foreign Languages 96
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES - High School Level I
COMPETENCY GOAL 7: COMMUNITIES - The learner will use language and/or
demonstrate cultural knowledge and understanding within and beyond the school
setting for personal, educational, and professional growth and enrichment.
Objectives
7.01 Perform and/or participate in a school or community celebration or
competition.
7.02 Share knowledge of the target language and cultures with others.
7.03 Interact with people of other cultures in the target language about familiar
topics.
7.04 Visit places in person or via technology, which provide opportunities to use
the target language and/or experience the target cultures.
7.05 Identify occupations within the community and beyond that require
proficiency in the target language.
7.06 View, listen to, and read various forms of media that utilize the target
language and reflect the target cultures.
Second Languages 2004 Modern Foreign Languages 97
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES - High School Level II
Students enrolled in this course have either successfully completed the level I course at the
high school or the middle school or have placed out of level I due to previous language
study at the elementary and/or middle grades.
This course provides students with opportunities to continue the development of their
listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Students participate in simple
conversational situations by combining and recombining learned elements of the language
orally and in writing. They are able to satisfy basic survival needs and interact on issues of
everyday life in the present time and past time inside and outside of the classroom setting.
They compose related sentences, which narrate, describe, compare, summarize familiar
topics from the target culture. Focus is placed on understanding main ideas.
They develop a better understanding of the similarities and differences between cultures
and languages and they examine the influence of the beliefs and values on the target
culture(s).
Integration of other disciplines is on-going throughout the course.
Strands: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing
COMPETENCY GOAL 1: INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION - The learner
will engage in conversation and exchange information and opinions orally and in
writing in the target language.
Objectives
1.01 Communicate present and past information by recombining basic vocabulary
and structures orally and in writing.
1.02 Exchange information by asking and answering original questions orally
and in writing.
1.03 Share likes and dislikes, feelings and emotions giving supporting
information orally and in writing.
1.04 Engage in oral or written conversation (face-to-face, e-mails, letters) about
everyday topics using strings of simple sentences.
1.05 Use culturally acceptable vocabulary, idiomatic expressions or gestures.
Second Languages 2004 Modern Foreign Languages 98
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES - High School Level II
COMPETENCY GOAL 2: INTERPRETIVE COMMUNICATION - The learner
will understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics
in the target language.
Objectives
2.01 Demonstrate understanding of some oral and written idiomatic expressions,
phrases, sentences and passages.
2.02 Demonstrate understanding of increasingly complex oral and written
questions relating to familiar topics.
2.03 Understand and follow oral and written directions, commands, and requests
from a variety of sources including selected authentic materials.
2.04 Identify main idea(s) and some details from simple oral and written passages
about familiar topics.
2.05 Make inferences and draw conclusions from simple oral and/or written
passages (e.g., conversations, dialogs, narratives, advertisements, songs,
rhymes, chants, and literature) about familiar topics.
2.06 Interpret phrases presented with accompanying gestures, intonation, and
other visual or auditory cues.
COMPETENCY GOAL 3: PRESENTATIONAL COMMUNICATION - The
learner will present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or
readers on a variety of topics in the target language.
Objectives
3.01 Give oral and written presentations about people, places, things, and events
using simple sentences and paragraphs in present and past time.
3.02 Dramatize songs, short plays and skits, or poetry on familiar topics.
3.03 Tell or retell a story orally and in writing.
3.04 Recombine known language to produce personalized statements.
3.05 Give detailed instructions orally and in writing.
3.06 Compose paragraphs related to personal experience.
3.07 Summarize orally and in writing main idea(s) from selected material.
COMPETENCY GOAL 4: CULTURES - The learner will gain knowledge and
demonstrate understanding of the relationship among practices, products, and
perspectives of cultures other than his/her own.
Objectives
4.01 Recognize and use cultural practices and expressions in daily activities.
4.02 Identify and explain patterns of behavior or interaction among the target cultures.
4.03 Participate in activities and experience customs and traditions of the target cultures.
4.04 Identify major geographical features, cities, and regions of the target countries where
the language is spoken and show their relationship to the culture.
4.05 Identify important people, events, and achievements of the target countries and show
their contribution to their own and other cultures.
4.06 Investigate perspectives and practices of contemporary life in the target cultures
through print, non-print, electronic materials, and cultural artifacts.
4.07 Identify differences in cultural products, practices, and perspectives which lead to
generalizations or stereotyping among cultures with the same language.
Second Languages 2004 Modern Foreign Languages 99
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES - High School Level II
COMPETENCY GOAL 5: COMPARISONS - The learner will develop insight into
the nature of language and culture by comparing his/her own language(s) and
culture(s) to others.
Objectives
5.01 Demonstrate an awareness of regional and national sound pattern
differences (e.g., pronunciation, intonation, word stress) within the target
language and his/her own language(s).
5.02 Compare and contrast structural patterns in the target language and his/her
own language.
5.03 Develop an awareness of the similarities and differences of familiar genres
of written texts (e.g., simple poems, letter writing) in the target language and
his/her own.
5.04 Recognize words, phrases, idioms that do not translate directly from one
language to another and their impact on communication.
5.05 Recognize the changing nature of language.
5.06 Continue to develop an appreciation for cultural differences by comparing
patterns of behavior or interaction in various cultural settings including
his/her own.
5.07 Demonstrate an awareness of his/her own culture based on comparisons of
sample daily activities in the target cultures and his/her own culture.
5.08 Demonstrate an understanding of the reasons why certain products originate
and are important to the target cultures and to their own.
5.09 Investigate the cultural traditions and celebrations that exist in the target
cultures and other cultures and recognize the viewpoints behind them.
5.10 Explore the viewpoints and attitudes of people in both his/her own culture
and the target cultures relating to everyday life.
5.11 Demonstrate an understanding of the mutual impact of the target cultures
and his/her own culture.
COMPETENCY GOAL 6: CONNECTIONS - The learner will acquire, reinforce,
and further his/her knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language.
Objectives
6.01 Identify and process information and skills that are common to the foreign
language class and other disciplines.
6.02 Communicate information in the foreign language class which is common to
other disciplines.
6.03 Transfer information acquired in the foreign language class for use in other
disciplines.
6.04 Recognize and apply learning strategies, processes from other disciplines.
6.05 Develop learning strategies in the target language which can be used in other
disciplines.
Second Languages 2004 Modern Foreign Languages 100
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES - High School Level II
COMPETENCY GOAL 7: COMMUNITIES - The learner will use language and/or
demonstrate cultural knowledge and understanding within and beyond the school
setting for personal, educational, and professional growth and enrichment.
Objectives
7.01 Perform and/or participate in a school or community celebration or
competition.
7.02 Share knowledge of the target language and cultures with others.
7.03 Interact with people of other cultures in the target language about familiar
topics.
7.04 Visit places in person or via technology which provide opportunities to use
the target language and/or experience the target cultures.
7.05 Identify occupations within the community and beyond that require
proficiency in the target language.
7.06 View, listen to, and read various forms of media that utilize the target
language and reflect the target cultures.
Second Languages 2004 Modern Foreign Languages 101
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES - High School Level III
Students enrolled in this course have either successfully completed high school levels I
and II courses or have placed out of levels I and II due to previous language study at the
elementary and/or middle grades.
This course provides students with additional opportunities to expand their listening,
speaking, reading, and writing skills as they create with the language and as they access
short literary texts, authentic materials, and media on generally familiar topics. Students
satisfy limited communication and social interaction demands as well as initiate and
maintain face-to-face communication. They identify main idea(s) and significant details in
discussions, presentations, and written texts within a cultural context, read and interpret
authentic materials, narrate and describe in sentences, groups of related sentences, and
short cohesive passages in present, past, and future time and compose messages,
announcements, personal notes, and advertisements.
They continue to refine their knowledge and understanding of the target language and
culture(s) and their own by examining the interrelationship of other cultures to their own,
by demonstrating behaviors appropriate in target cultures, and by applying their
knowledge and skills inside and outside of the classroom setting.
Integration of other disciplines is on-going throughout the course.
Note: The objectives for High School Level III are written at the honors level;
therefore this course is assigned to category H (1 point).
Strands: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing
COMPETENCY GOAL 1: INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION - The learner
will engage in conversation and exchange information and opinions orally and in
writing in the target language.
Objectives
1.01 Interact using original thoughts orally and in writing by employing
increasingly complex structures and expanded vocabulary in present, past,
and future times.
1.02 Ask and answer open-ended questions on a wide range of topics orally and
in writing.
1.03 Express preferences, feelings, emotions, and opinions giving supporting
details orally and in writing.
1.04 Demonstrate evidence of self-correction in communication with others.
1.05 Increase use of culturally acceptable vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and
gestures.
Second Languages 2004 Modern Foreign Languages 102
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES - High School Level III
COMPETENCY GOAL 2: INTERPRETIVE COMMUNICATION - The learner
will understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics
in the target language.
Objectives
2.01 Demonstrate understanding of a wide range of oral and written idiomatic
expressions, phrases, sentences and passages.
2.02 Demonstrate understanding of oral and written questions relating to familiar
and less familiar topics.
2.03 Understand and follow oral and written directions, commands, and requests
originating from a variety of sources including authentic materials.
2.04 Identify main ideas and significant details from longer authentic spoken
passages from the target cultures (e.g., live and recorded discussions,
presentations, lectures) or from materials being studied in another class.
2.05 Read and interpret authentic materials (e.g., selected short stories, poetry and
other literary works, articles, personal correspondence, and simple technical
material).
2.06 Predict outcomes, draw inferences, analyze, and make judgments from oral
and written materials.
2.07 Recognize intonation patterns and their effect on meaning.
COMPETENCY GOAL 3: PRESENTATIONAL COMMUNICATION - The
learner will present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or
readers on a variety of topics in the target language.
Objectives
3.01 Narrate and describe with detail in present, past and future time orally and in
writing.
3.02 Compose and present stories, poems, and skits.
3.03 Compose messages, announcements, notes, advertisements, postcards, or
simple letters beyond personal experiences.
3.04 Explain a simple process, incorporating instructions.
3.05 Summarize and interpret information from authentic material orally and in
writing.
Second Languages 2004 Modern Foreign Languages 103
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES - High School Level III
COMPETENCY GOAL 4: CULTURES - The learner will gain knowledge and
demonstrate understanding of the relationship among practices, products, and
perspectives of cultures other than his/her own.
Objectives
4.01 Use practices characteristic of the target cultures for daily activities among peers and
adults.
4.02 Compare and contrast patterns of behavior or interaction among the target cultures.
4.03 Participate in activities and celebrations, and experience and analyze customs,
traditions, and celebrations of the target cultures.
4.04 Examine historical and contemporary literature and the arts in order to understand
the cultural practices and perspectives of the target cultures.
4.05 Compare and contrast geographical features of target countries to show their
relationship to the culture.
4.06 Discuss the influence of important people, events, and achievements of the target
countries on their own and other cultures.
4.07 Draw inferences about contemporary life in the target cultures through print and
non-print media, cultural artifacts, and/or interaction with people from those cultures.
4.08 Compare and contrast cultural products, practices, and perspectives among cultures
with the same language in order to dispel stereotyping.
COMPETENCY GOAL 5: COMPARISONS - The learner will develop insight into
the nature of language and culture by comparing his/her own language(s) and
culture(s) to others.
Objectives
5.01 Investigate regional and national sound pattern differences (e.g.,
pronunciation, intonation, word stress) within the target language and his/her
own language(s).
5.02 Compare and contrast structural patterns in the target language and his/her
own language(s).
5.03 Investigate the similarities and differences of various literary genres in the
target language and his/her own.
5.04 Recognize words, phrases, idioms that do not translate directly from one
language to another and their impact on communication.
5.05 Explain the changing nature of language.
5.06 Understand selected economic, political, and social events that have shaped
the target culture and their relationship to the United States across time.
5.07 Research how native speakers of the target cultures (e.g., writers, journalists,
artists, media persons) portray life in the United States and how native
speakers of English portray life in the target cultures.
5.08 Describe cultural perspectives as reflected in a variety of literary genres and
compare and contrast to his/her own culture.
5.09 Explore the relationship of attitudes, behaviors, and products in the target
culture and compare to his/her own culture.
Second Languages 2004 Modern Foreign Languages 104
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES - High School Level III
COMPETENCY GOAL 6: CONNECTIONS - The learner will acquire, reinforce,
and further his/her knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language.
Objectives
6.01 Acquire and process information from a variety of sources in the target
language about a topic which is common to other disciplines.
6.02 Discuss, exchange, and analyze information acquired from other disciplines
in the target language.
6.03 Transfer information acquired in the foreign language class for use in other
disciplines.
6.04 Recognize and apply learning strategies, processes, and skills from other
disciplines.
6.05 Develop learning strategies in the target language which can be used in other
disciplines.
COMPETENCY GOAL 7: COMMUNITIES - The learner will use language and/or
demonstrate cultural knowledge and understanding within and beyond the school
setting for personal, educational, and professional growth and enrichment.
Objectives
7.01 Perform and/or participate in a school or community celebration or
competition.
7.02 Share knowledge of the target language and cultures with others.
7.03 Interact with people of other cultures in the target language about familiar
topics.
7.04 Visit places in person or via technology which provide opportunities to use
the target language and/or experience the target cultures.
7.05 Identify occupations within the community and beyond that require
proficiency in the target language.
7.06 View, listen to, and read various forms of media that utilize the target
language and reflect the target cultures.
Second Languages 2004 Modern Foreign Languages 105